‘We did a great job,’ says Tiselj

It was a tough match and one of disappointment for Krim Mercator in Ljubljana on Saturday, particularly for coach Tone Tiselj.

The experienced and successful Tiselj had led Krim to two EHF Champions League trophies in 2001 and 2003 and the Slovenian men’s national team to a silver medal at the EHF EURO 2004.

However, this season has proven to be one of missed opportunities for Tiselj among Europe's elite.

After the first leg, the Slovenians had a great chance, with a 24:22 away victory at Larvik HK in Norway, but all hopes were shattered on Saturday by a 19:27 defeat at home.

Despite this result and missing out on a chance of winning his fifth title, Tiselj insists that he is not dissatisfied.

“It was our season objective to proceed to the semi-finals with this newly built team, and we made it.

“In the end my team did a good job, but we were not able to beat Larvik twice. They were clearly the better team,” admitted Tiselj.

Although his team had a two goal advantage from the first leg and stretched that lead by going 4:1 up in the opening minutes, they could not hold that level as the first half progressed.

“I don’t know what had happened.

“Maybe we made some mistakes in the preparation for the re-match. But in the end, Larvik had more experience in the crucial situations and they have a longer tradition in being successful.

“In contrast, we were not ready to be in the final. We were too confused, which is a pity after the perfect start,” said Tiselj.

Tiselj is already looking ahead to next season and he can boast an almost identical squad, with the exception of Susann Müller, who leaves to HC Leipzig, as well as Liudmila Bodnieva and Marija Vergelyuk, who will retire.

“We want to be back the next season. Hopefully we have learnt a lot, especially with this semi-final,” concluded Tiselj.